Walled In
by Cercris
Summary: The change of wind is troublesome for many, but the work of a devious scientist fell an entire empire, and a famous rebel group was established. One boy, however, never knew of any of this, and one day finds himself staring faceto face with reality.
1. And it begins!

Walled In

The sunblessed the last hours of the day with a particular beauty before it was swallowed by the horizon. Nobody in the peculiar city would ever see the sun set beneath the earth. Most one could glimpse is the last of the rays filtering through the tall skyscrapers, over the tops of small homes, or through the dense tree life whose fingers laced intricately through the innards of the city, coexisting with its glass and concrete partners.

Dead centerof the city was a fortress of immense proportions, a palace to shame all others and overgrown with well-kempt flora. The only barriers to protect those whom have the privilege to seek pleasure within the warm confines of the lavished walls were the tallest trees with the thickest trunks and the most deeply burrowed roots, surrounding and overpowering the palace. There was but one path through the dense forest to the front steps of such a grand home, and it was so clear-cut that it could make one wonder how it could be done without ever taking an axe to bark.

In the clearing in front of the steps was a site to behold. At the base of the stairs were hundreds upon hundreds of people, humans, mingling with fantastic creatures half their size; creatures which resembled animals of all species and genus. But they all stood upright, mimicking their human counterparts (or were the humans mimicking the creatures?). They, too, coexisted. Humans and these creatures altogether called themselves Mobians, citizens of the Acorn Palace and the planet Mobia. To scholars, though, the planet will always be Second Earth.

While the Mobians chattered silently amongst themselves, there was hustle and bustle at the top of the steps. A podium was being set up, microphones being tested, wires being strung, and chairs being occupied by richly dressed humans and creatures. Standing between the riches and the common was a row of guards, tall and grizzly humans being separated by their shorter but still as gruff creature counterparts. One of the creatures, a mole standing near the middle, flexed his clawed hands behind his back in frustration.

Finally, as the last of the speakers were set up and tuned, silence was called by a blue hedgehog with a black mustache.

"Silence, please! Queen Elizabeth Acorn is about to speak," Slowly but surely silence crept through the crowd. Once all was silent but for the occasional cough or murmur, the blue hedgehog stepped away from the podium and sat in his allotted seat just to the right. As he stepped down from the podium, a creature which resembled a squirrel stepped up from a seat to the left and held position at the front of the stage.

"Mobians of Acorn Palace, this is the sixth-hundredth year that our forest has stood, that our civilization has held rigid." The cast of those among the chairs held their heads high, but for a small blue hedgehog at the very end of the right row, whom stifled yawns and unnecessary fidgeting, "Though we have held strong for this long, it is not without the many thanks to our soldiers. Many died in the recent skirmishes with the Wolven desert lands, some still stand here today. Make it known that Monday will forever be known as a holiday, to celebrate our victory in eliminating the Wolven threat as well as paying respect to the twenty-three hundred who have died in war. Let us bow our heads together in a moment of silence,"

And altogether everybody but the soldiers tilted their heads down, and somehow, for the briefest of moments, the silence was even more pronounced. The mole guard shed a silent tear, but made no move to wipe it away. Pain veiled with pride.

The pine needles in the trees rustled a melody when light winds dance about on the high branches, lulling children to sleep at night. The queen raised her head and glanced over the crowd.

"Thank you, thank you all. However brave our soldiers were, the casualties were catastrophic. The last of our warriors stand before you and around you. They are the veterans, and the most elite, but even so they are not enough to defend our kingdom. Therefore we have enlisted the help of a brilliant scientist, Dr. Kintobor, who has discovered a technology that will, in times of great need, create warriors of metal out of the common man. Here he is to speak of his technology and demonstrate its use." The beautiful woman stepped down from the podium and went back to her seat. A few chairs down from her, an obese man with a pointed head and a charming smile stood up to a microphone especially placed for him.

"Ahem, whoa, nervous here, haven't spoken to such a large crowd before." And he gave a nervous chuckle. There were a few chuckles in the crowd as well, though scarce. "Well, as her Highness has mentioned, yes there is a technology now which allows us to, at a cellular level, morph flesh and fur into metal and wiring. Right now it can only be performed on specific parts of the body, like an arm, leg or eye. The actual math behind it is extremely complex, so I think I'll demonstrate on myself and a willing soldier exactly what this does."

On a hand gesture from the doctor, two soldiers brought out a table that had several odd contraptions on top, and a video-camera that was sending a live-feed to huge screens set up behind the podium. It took a few minutes to set up, with the camera facing the table and doctor so that everybody could clearly see what was going on.

"This is a miniaturized version of the main device. The main device could easily fit a seven-foot human with a belt that could lasso five anthros," There was a mixture of true laughter and uncomfortable chuckles. Not very often do mobians make the distinction between a small anthro and a large human. In this case it seemed almost appropriate, though. "However, since it is a bit too much machinery to transport easily-at the moment-I've constructed a fully functional miniature to test out on this arm," he states as he lifts his left arm into the air as he stated this.

There were a few uncomfortable murmurs through the crowd as the fat man sauntered down to the table, an overly please look plastered to rolls on his face. Cameras followed his movements, catching easily how his fat jiggled with each step. If one looked close enough they could see how the vibrations actually acted like shockwaves through his form. One such kid did notice this, a blue hedgehog sitting at the end of a long line of 'royal pidgeons' as his uncle liked to call them.

The little hedgehog was trying his best to look proper, to not embarrass his uncle and the rest of his family. It was proving quite difficult to do, as he was constantly looking elsewhere for something to do. Looking to the right at the line of prim-and-proper proved boring, as none of them wanted to talk or even to give him notice, and looking straight he saw nothing but the largest crowd he had ever seen. Oddly enough it didn't fill him with any pride knowing that he was witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime event, having the entire Acorn palace, including peons from far-away fields, conglomerate to discuss the future of their society.

A small whisper off to the side caught the youths attention. He let his ear flicker in response before turning his gaze far to the left and behind him. Among the planters which line the outside wall of the architectural beauty were two other kids, dressed just as formally as their partner. One was a squirrel who was a mirror image of the queen. The other was fox whom sported two tails from his backside, though looked to be just three years old, whereas the squirrel and hedgehog seemed to be nine or ten years old each.

The little blue devil looked to the right again, trying to get his uncles attention with a small whisper.

"Pst! Uncle Chuck. Can I go play?" Of course, the whispering never went unnoticed by the rest of the nobles, evident through the various sneers and suppressed laughter. The older blue hedgehog, with a huge vein on his forehead and a constipated expression, looked to the left and whispered back.

"Watch this one demonstration, then formally bid leave or so help me god I will box your ears so hard that I'll rip them apart!" Of course, the little kid had no clue how serious his words were, so he shrugged off the anger and looked back down to the table.

Luckily he was distracted enough to miss almost all of the doctors speech, seeing as the fat man liked to hear himself talk. The child giggled a little when he looked down at the doctor and though he looked a lot like an egg.

"So, without further ado, Here we go!" The eggman strapped his arm into a small, glass cylinder. It filled with what looked to be smoke or gas, and the doctor was obviously biting back a scream of pain as the cloud of nanites did their trick. When the 'smoke' cleared, what was left was a bright, metallic hand. That's when the small blue hedgehog stood from his seat, bowed before his uncle and the others, and walked off to the side. Of course, once out of sight and earshot, his friends tackled him and they took off running.

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A/N: comments/flames/constructive criticism appreciated, though I might bite back if I see any teeth. Basically this took me a while to get out of my head. I'm not very good at getting through a chapter or story, cause I always loose track of where I am or I simply get distracted… for a few months. This is basically just a chapter to set up one of the key characters, and to serve as an intro. Also, it is mostly just for practice, since I am a little rusty. Hoping that I can pull-through with this story this time, since I don't plan on it being long and I actually have an ending in mind. Also, due to a really stupidly programed word-proccessor interface, I cannot put down the breaks I usually use nor can I indent.


	2. Family Love

Walled In

Chapter2

A crashing sound was heard, along with vicious yelling and arguing. Through the air zoomed a small clock, smashing a mirror on the wall of the living room.

"For fuck's sake! What's your problem woman? Stop being so damn psycho and pack your stuff!"

"No! We have lived here for five years, and I am tired of your fucking paranoia! It's so fucking pathetic! Nothing is going to happen!"

"Just because the Royal Family trusts that fucking lunatic fat-bastard doesn't mean I do too! I've fucking seen what this guy does to Anthros in his spare time, he's a sick fuck! Now he's the sole owner of a technology which could turn us into fucking zombies like Lenny!" The ferocity moved past a small child who was sitting on the floor near the door, his big mole hands clutching his kangaroo-like ears and sobbing quietly. "I know this guy is gonna do something, especially since our numbers are limited! I can't believe Her Majesty would make such a poor decision – woa!" Another piece of decoration smashed into a wall.

"You don't care about me! You don't care about anything I want! All you care about is your war-buddies, and your training, and your fucking paranoid conspiracies! Pull your head out of your ass! Right now!" Screamed a kangaroo, who was rampaging through the house, and made her way into the kitchen.

"Hon! H-honey, step away from the kitchen – WOA!" A twang sound could be heard as a kitchen knife flew through the kitchen doorway and stuck into the wooden coffee table. "Calm the fuck down you crazy bitch! Are you trying to kill me!"

"You know what? Fine then! You wanna leave then just fucking go! Get out of my fucking house!" And a mole Anthro was shoved into the living room from the kitchen.

"Hey! You don't even have a job! You never had a job! Yer a fucking house-wife even after I ENCOURAGED you to get a damned job! This is MY fucking house! I pay the damned bills, I've been shot and stabbed so many times for our kingdom that the doctors practically won't accept me anymore! I've nearly died ten times to keep this roof over your head!"

"Nine times! Not ten, nine! Jeremy knew exactly what he was doing when he shot you!"

"For fucks' sake, he tripped! He had a hair-pin trigger on a fucking SNIPERS rifle! I'm surprised my arm was still attached!" The mole was digging his claws into his furred scalp in absolute frustration.

"Get out of my house!"

"Fine! You wanna be stuck here, that's no skin off my nose, but I'll be damned if Long stays here!"

"Don't you dare bring Long into this! The last thing he needs is you dragging him out to the forest on another one of your fucking faggot-excusions!"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I bet you're fucking him!"

"HOW DARE YOU! Where the fuck did that idea even come from you psycho?" He screamed with enough anger and force to actually shake the walls.

"I can't believe I married a fucking faggot! Now my son's gonna turn out all freakish, and it's all your fault!"

"You barely spend any time with him! Last time I checked he was a freak, he's a damned cross-breed! But I still love him! You practically discarded him from the start!" By now, the child was simply sitting there and bawling out loud.

"See what you did!" said the kangaroo as she came into the living room, getting right up, nose-to-nose with the mole. "You are making him fucking cry! You're proud of yourself! Huh!"

"I tried to take him to a friends' so he wouldn't hear this shit! You pulled the starter out of our car and sold it at a pawn shop!"

"That thing was a death-trap already!"

"Only cause you don't know how to drive!"

"And we are hurting for money!"

"Because I couldn't afford a half-million dollar diamond necklace? You really are crazy! Why the hell did I marry you?"

"Cause I'm the best fuck you've ever had!" She spat in his face. The mole simply, quietly, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, quietly wiping the spit from his muzzle.

"Honey, I'm leaving and I'm gonna take Long with me."

"The hell you ar – " and her voice was cut-off by the mole clamping his muzzle shit with his hands.

"And that is final," She stared at him for a few moments, then started to slap and punch at him. A punch to his side made him wince and toss her backwards. The 'roo stumbled a bit and fell on her tail, cursing loudly.

"I hate to do this, but if you do not cooperate I will have to hurt you," And immediately she shut-up, a look of absolute fear replacing her anger. "I don't want to hurt you, cause no matter how psycho you are you are still my wife. But I am reaching my breaking point and fast,"

His words were spoken coolly, leaving the only sound left in the room the soft sobs of the boy. The mole turned from the wife, who was sitting pitifully on the ground, and went to kneel by his son.

"Long. Long. I need you to stop crying for me. Can you do that?" Long hiccups and sniffled a bit, trying to suppress his tears but doing a horrible job. His shoulders still heaved a bit as he looked up to his father, revealing bloodshot eyes. "Good. Here's what's gonna happen. We're gonna go camping again, okay? We are gonna go camping for a long time, and we might never come back here. I need you to go and pack your stuff and set it by the door next to my stuff, okay?"

Long gave a small nod, and the mole pulled the boy into a hug, giving him a kiss on the forehead, and then stood him up. The boy rushed up the stairs obediently, leaving his mom and dad alone. They both sat there in silence. Some time passed, and the mole walked over to his petrified wife, and helped her to stand

"It's too dangerous for Long and me to be together, Jane, but he can take care of himself out there. I made sure that he could. I believe in him. I just hope that, at some point, he makes peace with what we are and how we treat him,"

"Dan, I'm scared. I don't want to lose Long, I don't want him to have to fight. You took that away from me when you taught him your ninjutsu. I wanted him to have a father who was always there, but the wars took you away. Even though you fucked everything up, I think he still loves you more than me,"

"Hon, you know why that is." He said and kissed her softly "You really are a psycho. When I was gone I got letters from him saying you beat him, and when I get back I am greeted by three shrinks and a child-services director telling me my wife, of all people, had a drinking problem." He said all too calmly.

"I know I'm a horrible mother, but I've tried my best. I couldn't do it alone."

"I'm not exactly the best of dads, either. Trust me, sending him loose in the forest will clear him up. It helped me when I was younger, and it still helps me now. The longer we are out there, the better and calmer we are. I can feel something happening when we are out there. I can't explain it, but whatever it is, it'll ensure that Long will grow into a man that reflects who he is today. Kind, caring, tolerant, and most of all, forgiving."

They spent the next couple moments embraced with one another, sharing the occasional kiss.

Long came back down the stairs, his hiking pack completely assembled and strapped to his back. The mole smiles and lets go of his wife to scoop Long into his arms, hugging him tight.

"Long, you ready to go?" He asked as he set his boy back down on the ground.

"Yes papa," Long stated solemnly, still sad from earlier but with his tears dried up.

"Good. Then I want you to wait here for a second," and the mole went off through a doorway at the far-end of the living room, to the den. A couple seconds later he came back out with a medium sized chest, setting it down heavily on the ground. The kangaroo turned away, and went into the kitchen while in tears.

"Long, put your backpack down," and he did as he was told, unbuckling the straps and placing the heavy pack next to his dads' which was already there. "Okay. Long, this was something that my father and master passed down to me when I was a bit older than you. He told me I would know when the time would arrive that I would pass this onto my son. Well, now I know it's the time." He opened the chest towards his son.

"Wow!" Long gasped. What lay inside were several things. A couple of journal-type books, one which looked as if it was made with parchment instead of paper and all very old looking. Then there was some thick, black and weathered cloth, a cloak or cape of sorts. On top of the article were two things of interest, one being a couple of six-inch daggers set just below a lower-back harness made of leather, and above the harness was a small pendant of a non-mobian bat made of brass.

"These are all very old," Stated the mole as he put the daggers into their sheathe, and began to equip them to his sons belt, just above his thick tail, "But so long as you care for them like we all have, they will be around for when your son or daughter when their time arrives. You will know when the right time comes,"

Meanwhile, as he talks, he had taken the cape and placed it around his sons' shoulders. It was the size and shape of a blanket, but with the two pendants in place at each shoulder it concealed his form. A black bat was stitched both on the chest and back. Of course, on Long it hung down to his feet and skimmed across the ground.

"If you can feel it, on the inside of the cape there are places for you to hold many shirukens. When we get to the forest I'll give you the set. In the meantime, take the books and put them in your pack."

"Alright papa," Long stated, and began to do what he was told. The Mr. and Mrs. Looked at one another warily.

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A/N: I know, I've used this character before in my other story. Whatever, I like him a lot. Anywho, comments/flames/constructive criticism wanted


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